I got an occasional hack ride with the great men of the EL & CR on the Dundee. The early-mid 70's were a special time. I remember one of the men, his name was Walter who I knew from the drills told me if I love the railroad that much. I might want to see & take photos north of Suffern & work my way up to Binghamton. I ask why because & got my answer. The EL might not be the same in a few years. Cutting back by single tracking parts of the NY Division & most of the Delaware Division. He told me that if the EL survives, the Delaware Div. could be totally eliminated. As a kid I couldn't fathom that. Remembering him telling me "Agnes was a bad lady.". Then showing him photos of our house flooded (back then the 4th ward in Garfield flooded like crazy & Agnes nailed us bad) & him saying you know what I mean then.
Then after 4/1/76 would start to bring an end to a division I loved so much. I was lucky that there still was drills on the Dundee which had a lot of customers at the time, Carlton Hill was still busy, the Vornado Drill, plus smaller drills on the BCL by me like American Foods (AKA Guildens Mustard), Raia Industries (Cement, now where Gemini Plastics is) plus the exchanges with the NYSW @ Passaic Jct. (Thank you also John Treen of the NYSW for teaching me a lot about the Susie Q & Erie also). But disappearing more and more were the long hauls, traffic was really down by the summer of 78 then by 1980 whatever autoracks coming from Mahwah with loads of Granadas, Zephyrs & Fairmounts were gone when Ford closed.
I moved from here in 1980 & relocated to the Jersey Shore. I witness another of my favorite NJ routes for railfanning fade into oblivion too. The CNJ's Southern Division & Barnegat Branch. When I came in there, everything south of Lakehurst was mostly a memory & the Barnegat was a shell of its former self. Then moving back to Garfield 30 years later, things did change & to me not for the better.
In my area, long gone are any long freights along the BCL. At times I might catch a pick-up with the NYSW at Passaic Jct. Jimmy Wilson & the NY&GL with the Dundee was a highlight, but now it is idle. The NYSW long gone is the ROW between Lanza Ave to Outwater Lane. The grades crossings I use to help flag with the late John Treen at times gave way to homes & the new home for GFD #4. Garden State Paper folded because of the Enron debacle & the plant dismantled. The tracks leading into there & the Forstman Woolen Plant silent. Amazing that this city, a city of 2 railroads you have to really look to see activity outside of NJT operations.
So my feelings about how you see the Southern Tier & the area overall are the same. The NYSW I feel will be absorbed into at least CSAO. Afterall both the NS & CSX each own 40% of it & DO owns the other 20%. Remember after Walter Rich died in 2007, they cut operations a lot & sold off equipment left and right. I feel the Delaware Division will be abandoned too like the trustees for the EL wanted to do. I think the cost would be too high to leave it for detour traffic for the CSX like they do at times today. Gone too would be the remnants of the LHR in North Jersey. Will be a sad day when and if it comes.
As for NS & CSX operation on here today. I really like to know more because I been sort of an outcast to it also since its heyday. I guess I better catch up on some reading & viewing in real life also.
That is why I give you a real heartfelt thank you for creating the Bergen here. You really created here a piece of history besides the best looking route for TS2017. Given the true knowledge you have of it because to experienced & lived it. That is why it really is the most prototype route available. Getting to relive the Dundee alone brings the smiles. "Black Rock Cut" & "Rundle's Curve" might hold a great place in our lexicon Minerman, but to have lived them, made them very special.
